Building within Ecosystem Boundaries
Ecological Performance Standards
• To guide and Inform for building within
ecosystem boundaries
• A road map for site specific, ecologically sound
building
• Not a rating system
• Based on performance
• Build environment as part of a functioning ecosystem
• Site specific guidelines
• Reproducible process
Holistic design rather then efficiency alone
Sequestering carbon
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Tree plantings, 50-60 trees a year
Purifying water
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1200 gal. Cistern: flushes toilets,
exterior spigots
Reprocessing waste on site
• Salvaged material
Habitat creation
Goals
• Stay within the biological and
abiotic boundaries
• Manage for regeneration,
succession, and resilience
• Preserve and enhance the
patterns of a functioning
ecosystem
Pickerelweed, Pontederia cordata
Case study: 319 Marcellus
Step 1: Site Assessment
• Historical maps
• Geographical information system (GIS)
mapping: climate, soil, land cover, hydrology
• Traditional and local ecological knowledge
Historical Ecosystem
Salt sheds, Creek channelization 1800’s -1900’s
Digitized 1790 Vegetation survey
Dr. Myrna Hall
Current Street Grid
ecological monitoring to guide design
Step 2: Surveys and ecological monitoring
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Energy
Micro-climate
Atmosphere
Wildlife communities
Water quality,
Bio-Productivity
Soil
Community connectivity/food web
Human Health
Energy Resources
E.P.S: Energy use
• 4.03 kwh/m² /day in available solar resources
• E.P.S: 2,770.3 kwh/day energy in total
• Average U.S household: 8,900 kwh/yr
• Only 24 kwh/day
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Solar thermal and PVC
Passive solar design
High efficiency and natural lighting
Deciduous shade trees
Carbon cycle
• E.P.S: 1,653 lbs of CO² /yr stored on site
• Avg US citizen produces 24 tonnes/person yr.
Alternatives
Vegetation
Plant surveys and
seed bank studies to
guide management
Vincetoxicum nigrum
E.P.S: Creation of wildlife habitat using native species and
natural structures for breeding, nesting, and foraging.
 Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)……………Tannins for leather industry, Timber,
 Red Maple (Acer rubrum)……………………….. Syrup, Tonewood for instruments
 Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis) . ……….Lumber for furniture, cabinets, Firewood
 Black Ash (Fraxinus nigra) ………………………. Basket-making, Firewood
 Tamarack (Larix laricina)……………Straight timber for ship masts, posts, railroad ties
 Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)………………. Medicinal tea, Timber
Water Cycle
• E.P.S: 257 gallons per day gallons water absorbed and
purified
• 40” rainfall and 115” snow received per year.
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rain gardens
bio-swales
rain water re-use
gray-water purification and re-use,
tree plantings,
green-roof,
rainwater-fed toilet
>100 Sp. Fish
Reduced to
12 sp. in 1950
Fishing
banned in
1970.
White fish, salmon, eel,
regionally extirpated
Water quality improvements through design
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Rainwater capture,
pervious surfaces,
no pesticides
no chemical fertilizers
infiltration techniques
permanent erosion
control
Micro-climate
• E.P.S: Emissivity of site averaging
between .96-.97.
• E.P.S: Albedo falls within
the range of .17-.20 .
 Appropriate roof coloration and
material, reduce or eliminate
impervious surfaces, tree plantings
Bio-productivity
E.P.S:
• Soil testing
• Soil building practices
– food scrap composting,
– layer composting
• On-site food production
Step 3 Address Limitations
• Changes in hydrology
• Urban soils
• Depleted seed bank
• Zoning
• Invasive species, mychorizal changes
Solutions
• Bridge species
• Adapting standards for modern conditions
• Succession and dynamic equilibrium of site
• Staying within the ecological boundaries of reference
ecosystem…….is not a restoration project
Step 4: Design Goals
• Perform within the
environmental
boundaries of a given
reference ecosystem
• Natural and biological
processes to achieve
performance goals
whenever possible
Passive Solar
Design within
planetary
boundaries to
protect life for
the next
seven
generations